I bit my lip, still pondering my food. How the hell was I going to get out of this situation? It was like I had broken into a prison. Teleportation was never my thing, and I had no clue how to open a portal without a spell. I still had my phone. It was lying uselessly inside my tiny crossbody bag beside me. Unsurprisingly, I could get no signal in the fae realm. Would my friends even know I was gone or where I’d gone to? When Billie was kidnapped and her location was cloaked, I could find her through her connection to her men. I had no such anchors. I didn’t even have anything of that damn wizard to find him and force him to send me home. I was all alone in the world.
Prickly heat burned the back of my eyes, and I blinked several times to avoid any waterworks from beginning. I was a bad bitch, and bad bitches didn’t cry. At least, that was the mantra I was telling myself since I got there.
Zelda gave a pitying sigh, putting the items she was holding on the desk near the door. “I know you must be terrified. You didn’t deserve this but understand that you couldn’t have come to a better place in this realm. Master Yosef is really a good leader. He looks out for his soldiers, pays me at a very high rate, and takes care of me and my family. He’s always been good to me. People in our kingdom really like him. And Xander is, well, I want to say harmless, but that is far from the truth. However, he seems to have taken a liking to you. He can be almost childlike with his heart in rare moments. And when Master Luca returns, I know he will be kind as well.”
The faerie seemed really sincere when she spoke of them, but just because Yosef and Xander were good to other fae didn’t mean they would be good to me. “They aren’t letting me leave here.”
She nodded. “It’s for your own protection.”
I snorted, side-eyeing the food. My stomach rumbled in hunger, but I still wasn’t sure.
She clasped her hands in front of her, narrowing her eyes with a solemn look. Had I offended her with my snort? “It’s true, and I think you’re smart enough to know it. Master Yosef is risking much by taking you in. If it were found out that he was harboring a human without first getting approval from the royal court, he could be severely punished.”
“Then why would he take such a risk?”
“He’s no saint, but clearly, he saw something in you that made him want to bring you in.”
“Yeah, they want me as their sex slaves or to sell my blood off on the black fae market.”
Zelda wagged a finger at me. “Neither would do such a thing. Never been their style.”
I twisted my lips, still refusing to believe her. Maybe Yosef had never threatened her life or looked at her like he wanted to squash her like he did me. In fact, Xander, who was clearly dangerous, had been kinder. “What’s wrong with Xander?”
Zelda shook her head and began to arrange the products on the desk. “He had a hard life, and it left its scars. Maybe one day he’ll share with you about his past. I actually think it’s good he’s taking a liking to you. I’ve not seen that before from him. Maybe fate has brought you here to help them both.”
I rolled my eyes. Giving in to my hunger, I picked up what looked like a cherry and bit into it. It tasted more like a mango. Interesting but yummy. “If fate brought me here for them, then what do I get out of the deal?”
Zelda turned slightly to me, a gentle smile on her lips. “Maybe you might need help, too.”
“The kind of help that means I don’t get to go home again? Do you want me to believe that Yosef is going to have this change of heart and send me home?”
She pursed her lips together, patting the pile of clothes absentmindedly. “I don’t believe in giving false hope. Master Yosef won’t hurt you, but he is…not whole. I don’t understand what his ultimate goal is. I don’t know if he even knows. But he has made this decision, and it would be easiest for you if you just obey for now. Maybe we can even convince him to glamour you and hide your human scent so you can see the land. Despite the outdated ban on humans, this kingdom really is special. Of course, I don’t have much to compare it to. I’ve never been to the human realm.”
At the mention of my realm, I sighed again. Depression taking hold. “I have a bakery I run. I have friends. I might be an orphan, but people care about me. They’ll know if I’m gone. I talk to my best friend almost every day. I heard time moves differently between the realms. Maybe back home it’s been a month.”
Zelda grabbed some garments and walked over to the closet across the room. “Or it could have only been a minute since you disappeared. Times shift in odd ways between the realms. I know that might not bring you much comfort the longer you are here. Have faith, dear, the best things always happen.”
For who? Not me. I had to fight and claw my way for everything good that happened to me. I had a feeling it would be no different here.
CHAPTER5
XANDER
Istared down my drink at my regular pub a few days later. I wanted to be home watching Lila, but Yosef insisted I get out. Outside of short errands, I’d been stationed at Yosef’s house for the past several days watching over our new companion. I lived in the city in a tiny apartment, but it was in the nicer part of town. Since our encounter with Lila, Yosef wanted us to keep a watchful eye on her. He’d even hired two guards to detain her when we were on duty and bespelled them to secrecy. So far, he’d made no sign of wanting to turn her into the court, which was perfectly fine with me.
Not that I was making much progress with the beautiful human. Since our last deliciously bloody encounter, she would not leave her room. Zelda had spent the last three days dropping off meals to her. She had even barricaded her door at night to stop me from coming into her room and invading her mind. Her warding abilities were strong but not impossible. Actually, they were burdensome in that they took time to break, and a simple chair wasn’t going to stop me, however, I did not truth seek any further. Although, I did still enter to watch her sleep. And maybe once or twice I might have pleasured myself, but I never touched her. Was it wrong? I wasn’t sure. I might not have cared, either.
When awake, Lila was strong, outspoken, and stubborn. I wanted all of that. Asleep, she was peaceful, and even with her face relaxed of the frown I’d come to love, she was magnificent. I needed to keep her. The more I was around her, the more I planned to wear her down. There was something dark inside of her that I wanted to release. I’d seen glimpses in her mind. She tried her best to keep them locked away, I suspected with the help of magic. Still, some of it escaped. It was that part that intrigued me the most.
She hid her pain instead of embracing it. I wondered what she would be like if she gave in to it. She would be something great, I was sure of it. I thought of her face, straining against the pain from my dagger. She didn’t want to cry, and she didn’t struggle. I wanted so badly then to touch her. To show her how delicious pain could be when paired with pleasure. I knew she could take it. Enjoy it. Enjoy me thrusting into her as I bit her, cut her, clawed her. And she could do whatever she wanted to me. She could touch me with her ice magic as she rode on top of me. The pain from her freezing with her wrapped around me would be exquisite.
I adjusted myself, getting hard just thinking about how much fun we could have. If only she would just give in. I knocked back the rest of my drink, welcoming the burn of the alcohol down my throat. I placed the glass down as I felt a shove from behind press me into the bar counter. The pub wasn’t that busy tonight, so I know it wasn’t an accidental bump unless it was some drunk asshat. If it was on purpose, that would mean I got to fight. The thought delighted me.
I spun around in my stool and came face to face with two fae that looked vaguely familiar. One was almost seven feet tall with deep green skin and a bald head, pointed ears, and yellow eyes like a snake. The other was a hair under six feet, the color of sand, with a large belly and long red hair pulled back in a low ponytail. Two long fangs peeked out from his lower set of teeth, resting on his upper lip. His arms were crossed, and he glared at me. Oh, the shove was purposeful. I was going to fight. Yes!
I threw my hands out to the side, smiling. “Fellas, you shove someone and don’t apologize? What’s the problem?”
The shorter one poked me in the chest with a sharp-clawed finger. I looked down at it with a raised eyebrow. I would give him time, then I’d be sure to break him. “You stole my lady when you were here last week.”
